‘Yes.’ Geoffrey paused. ‘Putting in the mileage is going to take a lot of time. A lot of time. Hour and hours. But I’m serious about this. I’m not aiming for any records. Not at my age.’
Next to her, Ella felt Devon tense, his legs uncrossing as he planted them firmly on the floor. There was a definite subtext she wasn’t party to here. Devon didn’t say anything, his mouth firmed in an implacable line.
‘Let’s talk about this later, Dad.’ His low voice sounded taut with tension. ‘It’s been a long day. Ella, shall I walk you home?’
The grim expression on his face suggested it would be best not to argue with him.
As he ushered her out of the front door, a figure came bustling up the path.
‘Ah, Devon. How was your day in London? How was James?’
At the sight of Audrey, Ella fought a cowardly urge to duck behind Devon. She really was in tune with the local gossip. She seemed to know rather a lot about Devon’s movements.
‘And I’ve missed you tonight. Honestly, I think I see less of you now than when you lived in London.’ Audrey shook her head with an affectionate smile and then patted Dexter’s head. ‘I do get to see a lot of this lovely boy, though. I hope your father’s cleaned up all the muddy paw prints from the laundry room.’
‘If he knows what’s good for him.’ Devon’s teeth flashed white in the dark, lit by the lamp above the door. ‘And I’ve seen you plenty. You had me rebuilding the Splat the Rat this week.’
‘Yes, and you’ve done a great job. It really was looking a bit sad. I just hope Doris comes up trumps with a new rat. I’m glad I’ve seen you. Both of you actually because I need you to take all the bottles over to Ella’s for the tombola box.’ Audrey turned to Ella. ‘Hello, dear. When would be a good time for me to drop everything round? I’ve got raffle tickets for you. Sellotape. All the bottles. So all you need to do is stick all the tickets on the bottles. Nice and easy. Are you around on Thursday?’
Ella nodded, struck dumb by the sudden realisation that Audrey was Devon’s mother.
‘Right you are. I’ll see you then. About ten o’clock?’
Ella nodded again.
‘Toodle pip.’ She kissed Devon on the cheek and disappeared through the front door, calling, ‘Geoffrey, Geoffrey! I’m home.’
‘Audrey’s your mother?’ Ella blushed. ‘I didn’t mean to be . . . ’
Devon smiled. ‘Don’t worry, I know what my mother’s like.’
They walked along the lane towards the green.
‘Now you know why I live on the other side of the courtyard. As it is I get roped into most things, but this year I managed to get out of being Santa, the Easter Bunny and Captain America and I’m only judging one dog competition at the Spring Fayre.’
‘It seems impossible to avoid being roped in around here,’ Ella observed as they turned left to cross the green. ‘And I thought I’d be bored.’
‘And I thought once Dad was back on his feet I could leave.’ Devon frowned and sighed heavily. ‘He’s muttering about retirement, but it’s only because he thinks he’s helping me out.’
Ella nudged him. ‘It’s not that bad here, is it?’ She laughed. ‘And I never thought I’d say that.’
‘It’s not bad here at all. But I’m a grown-up. I don’t need my dad giving up his livelihood for me.’ His mouth curved with a derisive twist.
The gate squeaked and Ella glanced over at George’s house as they walked up the flagstone path, pleased to see that the lights were on.
‘George is back.’ She craned her neck to see if there were any sign of him through the windows. ‘He said they were discharging him this week.’ She ought to pop around and check he was OK and had everything he needed. ‘I know just what he needs,’ she added with a broad smile.
‘What’s that, then?’ asked Devon, his blue eyes dancing with amusement.
‘One of my special cappuccinos with chocolate sprinkles. I’m going to make a stencil so I can put a G on the top in chocolate.’
‘I’m sure he’d appreciate that, although I suspect he just likes the company of a gorgeous young woman now and then.’
Ella’s step faltered and she shot him a look, just in time to see a deliberately bland expression slip into place. A little glow lit upin her chest as Devon suddenly found the front door incredibly interesting.
He waited for her to open the door and Tess darted inside. Turning to face him, Ella put her hands in her pockets and stood on the doorstep, shifting her weight from foot to foot, looking at the neckline of his cherry-red wool sweater. ‘Thanks for today.’ She took her hands out of her pockets, feeling them hang limply at her sides. ‘For rescuing me.’ She rubbed the seams of her jeans. ‘Again.’ She managed to raise her eyeline to look at his face, feeling a funny swirling sensation in her stomach.
‘No problem,’ he said gravely, making no move to leave. The expression of gentle amusement and warmth in his eyes as he gazed down at her stopped her heart. Without thinking, she bobbed up to brush her lips along his jawline. ‘You were brilliant today.’
